Some things to consider

Legal Liabilities- Many of these larger breeds are being banned in various areas. Often it’s difficult to obtain homeowner insurance for intimidating looking breeds with a guard dog history. You may be more susceptible to lawsuits concerning your dog even if they aren’t in the wrong. Sadly GSDs are one of many dogs society has a prejudice against.

Socialization - Unfamiliar humans and animals may kick their protective instincts into over drive. Like any dog socializing is the key to a well behaved steady tempered personality. They need constant exposure from as early as possible. This is something that should be done throughout their life. If they’re not given this crucial training tool they can become suspicious of others leading to aggressive behavior.

Temperaments -  
Unfortunately with indiscriminate breeding these wonderful dogs have varying temperaments. Bad breeding by people with little to no knowledge on the breed end up destroying the very same dogs they claim to love so much. This can result in a lot of negative traits. Behavior consultants and dog trainers see a lot of this when dealing with German Shepherds. Once known for being stable easy to train dogs they are becoming aggressive, skittish, fearful, among other neurotic behaviors.

If at all possible a German Shepherd’s background and bloodlines should be researched. If you’re not careful you could possibly end up with a personality that you don’t want. These wonderful dogs can vary greatly between one another.

Looking for a companion for your family? Then it’s doubtful that a dog from the high energy working lines would be the right choice. Is a guard dog more what you’re looking for? Show lines are probably not the answer.


Potential animal aggression - With dogs that have a varying temperaments and need a lot of socializing it’s not surprising that some may develop aggression towards other animals. If they’re introduced at a young age they generally get along with the animals within their family. However, many show dominant behaviors towards other dogs of the same sex. If the other dog has the same type of personality this will most likely cause a problem. Sometimes German Shepherds are known to develop a predatory personality towards cats.